Evolution of a GenreJazz Big Band : 1920's -- Present

Early Example : Late 1920's

The "Big Band" is defined by its instrumentation of Multiple Horns with a rhythm Section

At this point, The biggest purpose of the big band is as accompanying music for Swing Dance ( There was very poor recording technology at this point, and almost no amplification , so there had to be live music for all dancing)

Middle Examples: 1960's

Frank Sinatra - Fly me the Moon (1964)

Instrumentation - Much Larger - More Horns , Possibly Strings, Much Louder Recording, and now with the introduction of Vocals as the main featured instrument . This was an influence of other popular music at the time (early Rock and Roll , RnB, Country ETC)

​Part of this is as a result of new technology, for in 1920 good microphone / amplification technology was less available.

Big Band is now very much a popular music form, and has officially moved away from the 'Dance Band' era. Other Contemporary performers such as Bobby Darin, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis jr. are selling out large Theatres of audience members coming specifically to see them perform. This is different from playing in a Dance Hall where the band was there as background music.

In Between....

Late 60's

70's

80's

Current Example: 2007

Airmen Of Note - Spain (2007)

Much Bigger Sound, Louder Sound. Instrumentation has not changed much from the 60's (although this song omits the singer and strings)

Much More intricate composition, much longer song.

We can hear a much more refined set of musical skills from the both the musicians and the composer. This is MUCH faster, and there are far more notes to be played.

This is definitely not about dancing , as the tempo would be way to fast for any dance tune. This is about showing off Artistic Skill.

​Many different instruments take a soloist roll, contrasting with the 60's where the feature instrument the entire time was vocals. Now it is really more about showing off the band as a whole.

One thing I noticed is that by the time we are in the mid 70's / 80's, as far as the popular genre goes, the evolution seems to halt substantially. By this time there is influence of Funk / Rock / other popular music genres, and its doesn't seem to branch out much from these in later decades . (except for in obscure, experimental examples which most likely did not sell very many records----->>>>>>)

For me, Big Band really start coming into it's own around the 1950's when it becomes it's own art form and music genre, rather than a byproduct or something attached to Swing Dance.

What is TRUE Big Band Music? I think the best examples of authentic big band music can be found in the 50's/60's. This is when the music flourished and became it's own art form. Some else could argue that the True Music was when people were dancing to it in the 30's, but I consider that more of a predecessor ( like field hollers -> Blues)

Group Sampling Activity

Get in Groups, Split up the Work , and be prepared to talk about it in class Thursday

Materials:1) Cell Phone/Laptop with web access2) Headphones

Your group has been assigned a recording artist (see list below). Using this class, your group must do the following: select a combination of songs that are connected by a sample, Research the two artists in question, Do a ‘mini analysis’ for each of the songs, and discuss the sample itself. We are trying to draw as many parallels as possible between the artists (era, genre etc), and the songs (genre, style instrumentation, meaning) in an effort to discover WHY the artist chose to use this sample. The assignment specifications are below (split the work up amongst yourselves).

1) Song Selection: Using www.whosampled.comand your respective group artist, select two songs that are related by a sample. This could be either your artist doing the samplingORyour artist being sampled(ex. song combo: Queen’s Under Pressure VS. Vanilla Ice’s Ice Ice Baby).

2) Research Preliminary (wiki info) facts about the two connected artists – biographical information, significant musical contributions, etc. Are these artists from the same era? Do they perform the same genre? Have these two artists collaborated together before? Have they ever met? Try to find as many things in common as possible!

3) Do a ‘mini analysis’ for each song. These can be your own thoughts or you can look them up using wiki/Pandora etc. Can you draw any parallels between the two songs? Do they have similar meanings? Are they of a similar genre? Again, try to find things in common between the two songs.

4) Discuss the sample itself. What is the nature of the sample? Did the artist in question sample an entire melody? A Groove? Riff? A lyric? Has it been sampled before in other songs? Are the other songs it has been sampled in similar to the one your group is discussing? Feel free the use wiki to look up any related information (ex. There is a lawsuit associated with the usage of the sample [like with the current Robin Thicke vs. Marvin Gaye case])

5) Given the info above, discuss within your group WHY you think the artist chose this sample. Was it because they wanted to absorb some of the popularity from the sample’s original song? Was it to pay tribute to the original artist? Was it completely random? Examine the commonalities between the songs, and the artists and try to come up with a reason why you think this artist used this artists idea/musical thought.